500 words a day on whatever I want

How to tell if a commenter is white

You cannot always tell a person’s race on the Internet, but sometimes you can. Here are some ways commenters make it clear that they are white (this is a work in progress):

They bring up purple people: they say it does not matter to them if you are black, white, green or purple.

They bring up the Arab slave trade.

They point out that Africans sold and owned slaves.

They say their family never owned slaves.

The anything-but-race argument: they bend over backwards to explain away cases of white racism. As if white people do not have a racist bone in their body, as if they are always fair-minded and well-meaning. So white racism must be “proved”. Yet they are quick to point out cases of black racism.

The blacks-are-racist-too argument.

They bring up how they were beaten or robbed or disrespected by blacks.

They say they are not racist, that they see all people the same regardless of skin colour.

They say their grandmother is racist. Racism is always in other people or in another time or place, never in them, right here, right now.

They say you always cry racism, that you see racism in everything.

They get highly upset if you call them the r-word. They see “racist” as a fighting word, not as a simple description.

They say you are the racist one.

They think being racist means joining the Klan or using the n-word or hating black people.

They talk down to you like they know everything and you know nothing, like you are just imagining things.

Their comments assume that being black is a bad thing.

They think that racism is over. The election of Obama proves it!

They point out that Obama is half white.

They say that most crimes are committed by blacks.

They say they never got any help but made it on their own.

They avoid words like “race” and “colour” and use “ethnicity” or “background” instead, as if there was something bad in noticing a person’s race.

They say that blacks are mostly to blame for their troubles.

They say that white Americans have been nicer to blacks than anyone else would have – certainly nicer than blacks would have been to them if it had been the other way round.

They present racist stereotypes as fact or insight. (Blacks do this too, but whites more so.)

If you make a general statement about whites they will say it is racist and that not all whites are like that.

They use the word “whitey”, especially the phrase “blame whitey”.

Some blacks, especially Rented Negroes and brainwashed, well-to-do ones, will say some of these things.

Whites have this self-image of themselves as being fair and just and well-meaning, as being colour-blind, as making it on their own. They will go to great lengths to defend that self-image because it is a part of their sense of who they are. That is what all the blame-shifting you see above is about. Their loyalty to their race is more important than their search for truth.

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210 Responses

I would just say that several of your points are broad and stereotypical.

We all know I am white so I will say
I had an interesting converstaion with a good friend of man, who is very much a smart, powerful black man.

we often discuss the items on your blog and he would disagree with you on alot of things. He brings up slaves in african. He tends to agree with me that racism is a symtom of sin just one of many…whites are racist and its wrong
blacks are racist and its wrong. And blacks being racist because they were treated wrongly by a racist white society that is in power does not exscuse the behavior.

Your racist beliefs about white people are just as wrong as mine about black people. The fact that this is a white society does not excuse a black persons racist behavior. Nor does the fact that I have black friends, or black family members mean somehow I get a “racist free white person” card. Its all SIN. No better, no worse…sin is sin.

And Sin only has one cure and one ultimate punishment.

Your blog is from your point of view…and therefore is colored by your experiences in life. You can not walk in my shoes and I can not walk in yoru shoes. But by discussing and arguing points we can understand each other better.

I LOVE to talk about race, sex, religion and politics. I get in trouble for it alot. I tend to surround myself with people I disagree with as its a much more interesting conversation.

Lstly – you ask any person who is half white and half black or half mexican and half asian or what evr and THEY will point out that Obama is half white. Cause he is. LOL – that doesnt prove a commentator is white. Its a fact. I know you like to bring up the one drop rule. But that is less and less an issue today. and shouldnt you want the one drop rule to go away. Why cant people just be…well what ever they are. its not just the white community that makes ethinicity an issue.

Japan has long been a pretty racist group of people. As has China. and not because of white influence. They dislake for black people is noted in Japanese society and chinese society. A person who miex with a black person was an outcast and rejected. Ang this was before America was a power.

Thats becaue people naturally desire to suprress, seperate and control each other. Its our inate sickness.

to add to this – “Rented Negroes and brainwashed, well-to-do ones, will say some of these things.” I dare you to tell my friend this…he would laughed. Just cause a black person disagrees with your viewpoint does not devalue his opinion or make him an uncle tom. He has lived life in black skin as well. Maybe he or she just views life differently.

I don’t think it’s true that you can tell whether a commenter is white or not… mynameismyname asked me if I was white in a different topic ??? that’s just weird… usually I get asked where I come from so I guess I wasn’t expecting that

Interesting post. Probably has some truth, but probably also one of those instances where there are plenty of individual exceptions. For example, on this blog, the poster who cited President (then candidate) Obama’s half-white status to me was Siditty.

Kat – I have never excused rasicm. Because their is no excuse….I was refering to past conversations where the perception is tha the white culture has somehow infected asian culture and other countries…as if the whtie culture is the origin of racisim.

I believe sin is the orgin – and it is not unique to the white culture. I believe we live in a racist culture. I believe that it swrong…I just dont think its the origin of the problem.

Also – those who dont think we are racist are in greater danger. Its the sickness thats symptoms are ignored that ends up killing a person.

abagond,
I was amazed at the OBVIOUSLY RACIST, ANTI-BW posters that were trashing the humanity, dignity, and femininity of BW on your “Why more WM don’t marry BW” post. What was truly disturbing is how these ANTI-BW RACIST POSTERS kept JUSTIFYING/DEFENDING THEIR OBVIOUS ANTI-BW RACISM in their comments while CLEARLY illustrating MOST of the characteristics you’ve listed here of SOME White posters.

Some blacks, especially Rented Negroes and brainwashed, well-to-do ones, will say some of these things.

The “brainwashed” is a bit mean, but to be in a position where you want to say more than just one or two of these things you will have to have bought into the ideas that go into white American racism.

That does not mean they are all lies. Africans did in fact sell slaves, Obama is in fact half white, etc. But what is the purpose of pointing these things out?

It is not just whites who point out that Obama is half white. Blacks and biracial people do it too, I know, but whites do it more often and make a bigger deal out of it. When they say it I feel like his half-whiteness is supposed to mean something, but I am not quite sure what that something is supposed to be.

i dont think his half whiteness means anything more than his half blackness….but i have said all along I care less about his race and more about the fact that I think he is a socialist….Dont give a damn where his ancestors came from – I am not all that happy with federal government envolvement in my life.

The thing about the whole “half white” bit that many whites love to tout out about Obama is that it reeks of hyprocisy.

There is no “half white” in the U.S., you’re either white or you’re not. To be white is to raceless. Obama and any other black person, the few like him who have a white parent and the remaining vast majority who have white blood but no white immediate family, is HARDLY raceless. Anything but.

Obama and any other black person, “biracial” or not, is clearly a minority. He/they will never be white. They’ll never be privy to white privilege. So, to me, their whole “half[or partial] whiteness” is merely genetic.

Like I love to point out, whites don’t go out their way to point out that say, Keanu Reeves (who has a Chinese father), is “half white”. No, he’s seen as simply white and the fact that he’s a product of an interracial marriage is rarely brought up. Why the difference in reaction? Is it because in the mind of whites that black is the worst thing you can be seen as? So, if they find a black person, like Obama, who they come to accept, their “half whitness” rectifies their unfortunate blackness. Yet, for any other “interracial” person who’s not black, there’s no need for their “half whitness” to rectify their non-whiteness? I don’t get it.

It’s like in Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” when Pino, the son of Sal, the pizzeria owner’s racist son, played by John Tuturro, openly hates blacks but admires Michael Jordan as an athlete and Prince as a musician. When Mookie, played by Lee, questions Pino about this contradiction, he responds, “Well, they’re not black.” They’re exceptions, in his mind, thus that makes them “above black”. Because, you know being seen as black is something that has be overcome. Anything but black…

That is exactly the headset of those whites who point out Obama’s supposed “half whiteness”.

Like I love to point out, whites don’t go out their way to point out that say, Keanu Reeves (who has a Chinese father), is “half white”.

I am not sure what your point is here… Keanu Reeves rarely brings up his father in interviews. (Who is Hawaiian/Chinese.. note that Keanu got the name Reeves from his father…)

In your experience do whites bring up the fact that Vin Diesel is half white..? Lenny Kravitz..? Lisa Bonet..?

Obama, himself, on the campaign trail emphasized his white background. Call it a political move but he brought it up plenty of times. He also basically credits his mother as having the strongest influence in his life. Indonesians who knew them both seem to think that was the case also:

Re: Keanu Reeves and Obama…
I suspect if the US had been saturated with ads, articles, etc. about Keanu Reeves, Vin Diesel, or Lenny Kravitz that discussed their parentage, one would hear he’s half white, or half Chinese/Hawaiian, or half black much more often.

Whites do not generally think of themselves as “white”. They are just people. They can walk into a room where everyone is white and not even notice it.

Or: when they make a list of the most beautiful white women in the world they do not call it “The most beautiful white women in the world”, like I do, but just “The most beautiful women in the world”. That is racelessness.

Davida – “To be white is to raceless.” what? so if your white = you dont have a race?

The concept of race is a tool used to pigeon hole people. Being white means you are not judged on the colour of your skin but by your actions. Being a POC means that you are first judged by the colour of your skin and most people wouldn’t even care about finding out about your character.

Racelessness is the ability to be the norm, the default and not have to think about whether you will be represented in aspects of everyday American life.

Racelessness is the ability to say All-American Girl and the first thing that pops into our head is a blonde haired blue eyed white girl or a brunette white girl. Not a Asian girl, Not Latino, Not Black, Not Native American, etc.

Apparently in your opinion and experience…. sorry in my experience.. I was reminded that I was white frequently in Oakland, Vancouver B.C, and in Silicon Valley almost daily. You’re projecting your own experiences and perhaps the writing of people like Tim Wise to all whites in the US.

That is why I used the word “generally” when I said “Whites do not generally think of themselves as ‘white'”. I know there are cases where they are reminded of their whiteness, sometimes quite painfully. I was trying to explain to Davida what racelessness meant.

Being white means you are not judged on the colour of your skin but by your actions.

I suppose that’s correct if the person doing the judging is themselves white. How about when a Black person meets a Latino..? An Asian meets a Latino..? A Black person meets a Black person..? Although whites don’t judge other whites on skin color they most assuredly judge each other by their accents, attire, mannerisms, age, gender, hair style, vocabulary, looks, etc. Damn quickly in my experience.

Although whites don’t judge other whites on skin color they most assuredly judge each other by their accents, attire, mannerisms, age, gender, hair style, vocabulary, looks, etc. Damn quickly in my experience.

and what you said under #19:

Re: Keanu Reeves and Obama…
I suspect if the US had been saturated with ads, articles, etc. about Keanu Reeves, Vin Diesel, or Lenny Kravitz that discussed their parentage, one would hear he’s half white, or half Chinese/Hawaiian, or half black much more often.

are perfect examples of #5 in the post:

5. The anything-but-race argument: they bend over backwards to explain away cases of white racism….

Bad hair and skin colour are not on the same level. And white people bringing up Obama’s half-whiteness only became a big thing after he was elected. It has little to do with media saturation and everything to do with white people coming to terms with having a black president.

I know there are cases where they are reminded of their whiteness, sometimes quite painfully.

Granted you aren’t getting paid for this and have limited time to devout to the discussion. Whites are now 65% of the US population and are generally a plurality if not an outright minority in many areas. I don’t know the percentages but I tend to think the majority of people of color live in areas where there are fairly high concentrations of other people of color.

Granted you aren’t getting paid for this and have limited time to devout to the discussion. Whites are now 65% of the US population and are generally a plurality if not an outright minority in many areas. I don’t know the percentages but I tend to think the majority of people of color live in areas where there are fairly high concentrations of other people of color.

That is an apples and oranges comparison.

America is shockingly segregated, in case you did not know. Most black people live in mainly black parts of town and most white people live in mainly white parts of town.

For whites with some money it is even worse: 90% of suburban whites live in places that are less than 1% black. That makes me want to throw up.

I know what you mean: being part black is seen as something bad (that terrible one drop) while being part Chinese is more like an interesting fact – so long as you do not look mainly Chinese, that is! Asian Americans experience racism too but to a lesser degree.

And white people bringing up Obama’s half-whiteness only became a big thing after he was elected.

I don’t know how one could prove or disprove that statement. That’s seems to be an unverifiable opinion. As I remember Obama (because he’s a good politician and communicator..) emphasized his (white) Kansas roots more obviously after Jeremiah Wright wanted to get some attention.

The anything-but-race argument: they bend over backwards to explain away cases of white racism

Well that is certainly your interpretation
… of course race can be a factor and cannot be changed…. but does that limit Asians in the medical, computer, or engineering fields..? How about Latinos in the construction industry..?

Race solidarity among whites…? Outsourcing of industry to India, China, the Philippines, and Mexico? Or importation of labor from the above countries..?

Why..? Therese and Kat were talking about racelessness. The idea that whites don’t experience the concept of race. Seems quite possible for some.. but my point was that many non white folks aren’t swimming in a sea of white people but among quite a few non white people.

The point of the post was not to say they are all lies – some are not – but that they are the very things that white people bring up. And they bring them up not so much because they are “true” and they are on some grand search for the truth (if only), but because they are trying to defend the racist world they have created and do not want to face up to that fact.

teresa “Being a POC means that you are first judged by the colour of your skin and most people wouldn’t even care about finding out about your character.” I understand this and have seen it. but its not always POC that deal with this.

As a white women, people make assumptions about me all the time that are wrong. I am judged by the color of my skin..by other white people, by POCs, by men and by women. Its human nature to judge.

My husband is one of 3 white men in his shop…he is a mechanic. His numbers prove he works on more cars…he is just more efficient at what he does. But the assumption is – in fact the common complaint in the shop is that he earns more money because he is white. They all have same base pay…he just does more work. The fact that he does more warranty work than the rest, if there are 30 appointments he does 12 and the rest do 1 or 2 each. Some milk jobs for days. Yet – they like to say its because he is white that he out earns them. His skin has nothing to do with out performing them. Their skin color also has nothing to do with the fact that he can work on four cars at once and they dont. I note he out performs everyone in the shop…including the two other white techs….

Just for the record, I do not think that whites are pure evil or white devils or anything like that. They have the same brains and the same hearts as black people, but the power they have in this world has twisted nearly all of their minds and hardened many of their hearts.

He has a narrow definition of racism, something that only like 3% of whites would qualify for, if I remember correctly. That should tell you which percentile he is in. To most black people he would be considered flat-out racist.

Why..? Therese and Kat were talking about racelessness. The idea that whites don’t experience the concept of race. Seems quite possible for some.. but my point was that many non white folks aren’t swimming in a sea of white people but among quite a few non white people.

Well, living in a black ghetto is not what I would call a raceless experience. People there do not forget that they are black, certainly not like how white people in lily-white suburbs forget that they are white. Anything but.

Many white arguments against racism assume a symmetry that just is not there. Being black is not the mirror image of being white. It is a false symmetry because nearly all the power is on one side and not the other. Institutional white power makes it asymmetric.

Aba said: Many White arguments against racism assume a symmetry that just is not there. Being black is not the mirror image of being white. It is a false symmetry because nearly all the power is one side and not the other. Institutional white power makes it asymmetric.
****************

Power is in the hands of the majority. It’s called democracy. For example, I’m a WHITE African (yes, gosh) here in South Africa, with no power because the majority rule. Get over it abagond, stop whining about racism and move to Africa, yep, make a contribution to the motherland. Only thing is your hard earned taxes will be squandered and inefficiently used.

Let me tell you something about absolute power in Africa. Our next President, 67 year old Zuma was accused of raping a knowingly HIV infected woman. He was acquitted, but told everyone that he had a shower and used “soap” to prevent infection. This is the idiot that is going to run SA this year!

He was also implicated for corruption in a arms deal. In avoiding jail, he has had the ex-president removed from office and placed a fellow crony in the position as temporary president until he wins the elections this year. He has also dissolved the scorpions (a specialist anti-crime unit) and fired any top officials that opposed him and he will walk free. He is a piece of crap amongst many other’s here that steals food out of the bellies of very, very poor people.

We have the money to give everyone a decent education and housing in this country but corruption and inefficiency is preventing this. Once the white threat is over, most black African’s don’t give a shit about each other and its a free for all.

Yes, I am a racist, so are you abagond and all the OTHER HYPOCRATES that frequent this site. I’m proud of my families heritage and history which I can trace back 2000 years. My forefathers have contributed to this world with hard work and brought mankind forward, so that you can have the freedom to talk utter shit on the internet.

Power…? What percentage of whites do you believe (I am assuming you mean in the US…) have power in your mind..? All, half..? What do you mean by power..?

has twisted their minds.

Can you elaborate..?

A given white person may not have much power but altogether they have a huge amount of power, not just in America but in the world as a whole. Not just the power of arms, the power of goverments and the power of money, which is huge, but also the power of ideas, of education, of film and fashion and television. Even the power of the news, of which stories get reported and how they get reported. It affects people of colour not just in America but all over the world.

By twisted minds I mean mainly racism, I mean they can tell lies about themselves and about the world and there is no one they will listen to who can tell them they are wrong. They believe what they want to believe. That 9/11 took them so completely by surprise is a measure of how out of touch they are.

As Gloria Naylor said, to tell lies is bad enough, but to believe your own lies is far worse.

White America does both and can get away with it – for a time – because of its power.

This blog, among other things, is an exercise in calling them on some of those lies. And when I do, I hear stuff like what I listed in the post, which are not attempts at understanding but attempts at side-stepping what I said.

Wayne how ironic that you now refer to your self as a white African, before 1994, there were still toilets, beaches, sitting benches in South Africa marked “non european” and you would not use those, because you considered yourself european. It is amazing how your ancestors stealing land and resources from blacks is considered by you a contribution to the world.

Abagond – i totally agree with your last comment. but of course I feel its to specific.

Not recognizing the racism that still exsists is ignoring sin (racism is a symtom of a worse problem). Its the belief that our PC – white washed – lifestyle is enough to make the world okay. Its feminists who only care about whether a man hits on a women in the office but dont give a damn about muslim women being murdred or tortured by their OWN family members. Or the female genitl mutilation in africa. Or a 100 other worthy cuases.

their are feminist causes that we SHOULD fight for in the world…and yet we focus on the trivial issues in the US.

Our society is spiriling downward into sin and evil…the harder the our white washed, god-free culture tries to say everything is fine…whats good for you is fine and what is good for me is fune…the more the putrid evil bubbles up from beneath. Their are no more rules, their is no right and wrong. we dont want to judge anyone. well damn it their is right and wrong. 9/11 was just one example. How about an add campaign that says “what happens in vegas stays in vegas” – meaning come cheat on your spouse, we wont tell, come do things you know are wrong, its okay. we idiolize celebraties who cant stay married for a month. Big business rewards dishonesty. Our music cultures teach young men to treat women as objects and even “kid appropriate” music is laced with sexual themes. My niece loves the barbie girl song – until I really lisened to the words…i do NOT want my four yr old niece singing…you can brush my hair and undress me everywhere – touch me here touch me there…

When i think about the world I think of the phrase “hell in a handbasket”

@ Tiffy: Thought mankind originated from Africa? Anyway the only true South African is the Hottentot/Bushan/Koi San tribe which has been in South Africa for 10 000’s of years. The rest of the tribes came down from Central Africa about 600 years ago and “COLONIZED” SA and along with the “WHITE COLONIZERS” basically wiped out this tribe” What do we call them? “Central African in South Africa”. Ha, ha. How hypocritical!

@Black South African. Firstly my ancestors never stole “your land”. they just took it. If your ancestors were not strong enough to prevent it from happening, tough, that’s life. The Monglians, Persians, Chinese, Egyptions, Europeans, Japanese etc. have all had their turn in expansion, with excessive cruelty. Stop crying man, and look forward!
By the way in 1992 I voted yes for change in SA but I suppose that does not count for anything!

That is an extremely poor line of reasoning. If might makes right then the world is just and good. Then I am allowed to do whatever I can get away with. Should I add that to my list? “Comfort with injustice”?

It’s got nothing to do with reasoning. This is reality. We can talk all day about injustices done in the past. Is it going to make a difference. I doubt it!. Every nationality, race, tribe in this world have had atrocities committed against them.

yup, whites often bring up the arab slave trade..i did it in your “white people” blog as you can see, i didnt do it to defend or excuse White slave trade..i did it to make comparison to what whites and arabs (among others) have in common, the slavery, and my second remark about arab slave-trade was about the Arabs enslaving Eastern- Europeans. Both Christians,Jews and Moslems were slave-owners.

Fine, you have your religious beliefs but I don’t understand this way of thinking…. Who is to say that YOUR GOD should be everyone’s god? I guess the bloody path various religious zealots cut through human history still means that god is the solution. Religion was and is the excuse for A LOT of injustice and all together screwed up scales of measurements, while some of the concepts are noble, we have proven as a species that they are contrary to our nature. This society has a god, its called money, we are doing the same things for money that we did for god. Going back to these old ways will just restart that loop, sorry.

Anyways, we are in denial about what we are, which is blinding us to what we can be, this article is a very prime example of that very thing. Telling yourself that things are ok even though blood is gushing from your ears doesn’t make it go away and don’t be surprised if people think your a fool for trying to convince them otherwise.

And I don’t get this Wayne fellow’s reasoning. So because Tom, Dick and Harry did it, its ok? Its like Ken cheating on his wife and looking at her as if she’s some kind of dummy for being mad, Jim cheated on his wife and so did Bill, what is her problem? He has too much pride to make things right but he wants her to shut up about it, the house is her property too so she stays, they live together separately, no trust, no respect so their relationship doesn’t have a snowflake’s chance in hell, he doesn’t mind as long as she shuts up about it. What does that say about him?. You can put a spin on it and say he got what he wanted he’s a badass or you can see it for what it is, he hurt someone and really didn’t care too much about it. Wrong is wrong.

That was a prime example of someone wanting what they want and not caring how they get it and the effects of said actions. One on One and group vs group is no different just on a larger scale. Some people, when they want something bad enough they feel entitled to it and given enough time one can explain away all actions so the wrongs seems somewhat rational forgetting the fact that it was WRONG in the first place. And quite frankly, speaking out against institutionalized racism and denial is hardly “whining”, its not something that’s NOT “in the past” and it might make some people uncomfortable but so what.

I think that most people who are placed high on a social class and/or racial hierachy tend to think the world is just and fair and anything that happens to them is because they deerve it. We blame the person than the situation. I do see this most in race related conversation amogest white people.

As you know I am not black but am part asian. This post has been extremely interesting and I agree with everything you said. I think the symmetry argument you bring up is a very good one and again shows incredible social insight on your part.

I really think you should write a book (if you haven’t already) about all this because the way you explain things is very intelligently worded yet easy to digest…I really think you would have a top seller…

and most people who are placed at the bottom of a social class and/or racial hierachy tend to think the world is unfair and cruel and anything that happens to them is because of other people. We blame the other person rather then ourselves for our predicament. I do see this most in race related conversations amongst black people.

Bullshit. I’m Asian, and I’ve brought up the Arab Slave Trade. In fact, this article is completely ridiculous. Anything that isn’t a flagrant admission that “I’m a secret member of an anti-(whichever race) terrorist organization” seems to indicate that the responder is white. I get tired of people blaming their problems on their skin color. I have never once been treated beneath my dignity for my race by any white person.

Just because you have never experienced any trouble on account of your race does not mean you never will. Nor does it necessarily mean that those who have are imagining it or making a big deal out of nothing.

First, I would like to say great post. Your style of argument is very common among blacks. By blaming whites for all their troubles it gets blacks off the hook, not all black people are like this. Young blacks do hide their racism, even from themselves. The thing is most blacks are too blind to their own racism to see it. Black racism hurts whites, but it hurts blacks too: lies eat away at your soul till you can no longer live straight and proud. Black racism runs much deeper than you seem to know. So deep, in fact, you do not even seem to see your own racism. So when white people talk about black people, black people should step the hell back, and listen. Whites cannot afford to fool themselves about the nature of blacks. Whereas blacks lie to themselves to maintain their overblown self-image.
Black women may look nice when they are young but when they reach middle age they start to fall apart! White Women are the most Beautiful women in the world while Black Women are so boring and Plain-looking!!! Sometimes, the truth hurts…

1. They make fun of white people and then cause an uproar when white people make fun of them.
2. They say white people owe them because of slavery and segregation.
3. They accuse white people of being racist to get special priveliges.
4. They don’t recognize other races besides whites, they think America is divided into “blacks and whites.”
5. They forget about the troubles of other groups in America, such as Native Americans, Hispanics, etc, thinking their own problems have priority.
6. They see the election of Barack Obama as a “victory for the black people” or “one for our side,” instead of for the greater good of everyone. As if white people didn’t vote for him, too.

This Wayne guy is very typical of white people in South Africa, full of hot air.
You’re wrong, black women are the most beautiful secure and grounded women, white women on the other hand are incredibly insecure, whey they reach middle age dear Wayne they are the ones that fall apart. Have you ever checked out how fast they wrinkle, especially in the South African sun?
They shrivel up by age 30. Do not come on this board and fool people about South Africa. I know Southern Africa very well.
You are the one who is very blind to how racist you are. You are a very typical Boar in South Africa, people like you are folks that condoned apartheid.
You are a hypocrite it’s sickening.

Bullshit. I’m Asian, and I’ve brought up the Arab Slave Trade. In fact, this article is completely ridiculous. Anything that isn’t a flagrant admission that “I’m a secret member of an anti-(whichever race) terrorist organization” seems to indicate that the responder is white. I get tired of people blaming their problems on their skin color. I have never once been treated beneath my dignity for my race by any white person.

It’s very naive and downright foolish to believe that no white people will do this to you in your face, but once you turn your back, it’s whole other story.

abagond Says:

Thu 28 May 2009 at 22:00:03

Good point: some Asian Americans talk that way too.

Just because you have never experienced any trouble on account of your race does not mean you never will. Nor does it necessarily mean that those who have are imagining it or making a big deal out of nothing.

Agreed abagond. This poster will be in for a rude awakening when it eventually happens to him/her.

“Black women may look nice when they are young but when they reach middle age they start to fall apart! White Women are the most Beautiful women in the world while Black Women are so boring and Plain-looking!!!”

Seems like it was you, Wayne, who brought up looks and black women falling apart after a certain age (which, i would think, includes wrinkles on the face). So Merry was ready to point out how black women, in fact, do age a bit better than white women.

I forgot about that comment. It’s actually a whole bunch of comments that I copied of this website and reversed the roles. ie changed white to black and visa versa just to see what the response would be.

=====================
For someone who accuses others of being racist, I find it strange that you MUST know if a commenter is white. Obviously, you believe that “THAT” must be the final determiner as to whether a person’s spoken words are true or false.

A person’s race does not affect whether his statements are true or false. To think otherwise would be an ad hominem argument – a logical fallacy.

Some of the statements listed here are in fact true. Like about Arab traders.

But I do find it amazing that whites like to say how they are individuals and that I am wrong to make general statements about them – but then they keep making the same sort of statements over and over again.

I have a confusing heritage: my Boer grandfather from South Africa married an American white protestant woman and had three children. Their son married a white and their two daughters both married “colored” (not black & not white) and from one of those unions I was born and was raised in a community w/o blacks.

I recall childhood curiosity and my confusion about skin color. My “white” grandparents preferred their son’s family, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I understood why my sisters and I felt odd on both sides of the family; neither side was like my siblings and me, although the non-white family had open arms for us while the white side was much less inviting, even mean spirited.

Mom and Dad hired a black couple from another town to do cleaning and yard work while they ran a restaurant. In particular, I recall one incident: “Mr. Jim,” the gardener, brought his boys to our house one day after we begged to meet his kids. The boys huddled together in the back yard while we peeked at them and wondered why they stayed so far away. Those boys with dark skin and nappy black hair threw a garbage can lid at us. Something made them mad, but we didn’t know what or why. So we kept our distance; we had so wanted to play with these kids but they made it clear we were to stay away. Mr. Jim treated us kindly, but his kids showed something different. Now I know that the kids were honest and the dad was… What? So many hidden feelings, so many conflicts…

You would call me white. In my family, I am the “whitest.” I envy my sisters’ dark hair and deep brown eyes; I have lighter skin and green eyes. I feel foreign when I see my fair face in the mirror. I check the “white” box when a form requires me to choose a race. It feels incorrect, a lie. I have memories of “difference”, of being odd where my white cousins were acceptable.

I’m aware that light skinned people are automatically preferred, that I now receive easy acceptance in white society and have no right to request subsidies. Whites need to be informed of the oblivious privilege, that there is an invisible wall for “outsiders.” I named it as an adult, after I learned the term “racism.”

I am thankful to have felt “otherness,” and to have experienced two different cultural traditions as a child. I want to know the experiences of nationalities surrounding me, to comprehend why the “garbage can lid” will always be hurled. Inside I say, “But you don’t even know me.” At the same time I think, “Shame on me for not appreciating white privilege.”

Yes, black women do age better then white women.
Our skin is brown and smooth and it always looks youthful because of the melanin in our skin!

True. Well, I wouldn’t know for sure, but looking at (non airbrushed) photographs, it is true. I always thought it’s genetic. Maybe it’s just about skin tone. However, I think it’s the same for men. Black men in their 40s often look younger than white men their age.

Speaking about the list, I am “guilty” for 4 (because it’s true) and 17 (because I am not particularily familiar with “one drop rule”).

In South Africa, white people still enjoy immense power because they own and run most of the big business, farms, etc. The majority of the current generation of black South African are largely uneducated and economically powerless. Abagond’s observation that white people have power is true even in SA. It will be a number of generations before the situation changes. (Kindly note that I have not gotten into giving the reasons why the situation is like that. Yet.)

I’m African and I have visited SA a number of times. I can see your views are typical of many Afrikaans.

I just stumbled onto your blog and have been skimming through entries. Some of your entries are excellent. Some of the entries are uncomfortable. Those two types of entries are my favorite because white people, like myself, really have a more difficult time with race and racism especially if they grew up in areas that are predominately white.

Like Boise, ID, which is where I grew up. I was completely blown away to hear that one of my friends was called the N-word by her white teacher while she was in elementary school. I think there’s a balance of being naive and wanting to remain naive when it comes to white people like myself.

You’re right. We white people are the absolute worst. The first Black slaves arrived in America in 1619. For 391 years Black people have had to suffer at the hands of White people. When are you going to realize that we will never change? When are you going to realize that the only way you will ever alleviate your suffering is to get as far away from us as possible?

There are plenty places in Africa where White people will be far and few between. If the site of them on your continent is so bothersome, kill them. It will be a lesson learned that they should stay with their own kind. I fully support the killing of South African Whites. It’s their fault for abandoning our nations and our people to live amongst Blacks. In turn, I also support the racial cleansing of the White nations by the White people.

I am grateful to the write of this blog, and to those like it, for telling the world how awful White people are. It is my hope that opinions such as these will deter people of other races to stop immigrating to White owned and operated countries. This way they can save themselves the grief that you have had to endure.

When are you going to realize that the only way you will ever alleviate your suffering is to get as far away from us as possible?

When are you going to realize that your caterwauling is what actually causes people’s suffering as they read your post?

I am grateful to the write of this blog, and to those like it, for telling the world how awful White people are.

The writer of this blog doesn’t have to do this. You are quite capable of illustrating this on your own . As you characterize it as such, this bespeaks your own paranoia towards racialized people who wish to talk, read of racism.

This way they can save themselves the grief that you have had to endure.

I’d like to know what you mean by “general comment” about whites. I thought the phrase for “a description that’s supposed to cover an entire group of people” was “racist stereotype”. But maybe I’m wrong?
“Racist” IS a fighting word. As much as any other denigrating name, it makes anything you say in the debate pointless, just another part of that “racism”. Often it is given as the conclusion to a discussion, no other arguments or comments are provided, just the single pronouncement- “you are racist, and therefore wrong”.
Most people like to think of themselves as fair and balanced. Most people like to protect that self image. While I can’t disagree that people do this, I think you are wrong in saying it is race loyalty. It is self loyalty.
Other than that I have no issues with the stuff said……

Wow. and it never occurred to u that maybe when we say non-racist things, it might be cuz thats actually how we feel? and “making racist comments as if they were fact or insight”, so which are you, abagond, white, or uncle tom?

You dismiss everything a white person could possibly say in the face of your highly insulting racist remarks. in another post u say white people dont pay attention to blacks, then u say here that a lot of ur commenters are white. why would we read ur blog

If we didnt care what u have to say? the very fact that were here proves u wrong. but u use the attention to verbally abuse us, and write any replies off as just pretending not to be racist. so in a room full of whites, u r by far the most racist one here

Hello everyone!
I am a white guy.I didnt care one way or another about this stuff…until I read this blog.
Since,it seems there is no solution that will appease and reward both sides adequately,I feel the only solution is for all of us to kill each other until one race or the other is exterminated.
I didnt WANT it to be this way but after reading all the comments..clearly its time to sound the alarm and lets just do it now.We have already wasted at least 3 generations trying to make everyone equal,and thats enough.
So anyhow,good luck and may the best race win.
Our forefathers would be proud!

Your entire blog is based on presenting racial stereotypes as fact and insight. You seem to be completely obsessed with race and racism and you project that obsession onto others. Of course people are prejudiced and race is one of the many thousands of things we make prejudgements about but if you think every assumption made about you is RACISM or SEXISM or whateverism then (1) you’re paranoid and (2) you’re probably avoiding why people are reacting negatively to you.

Whites get tired of constantly having the finger pointed at their entire race for just the same reasons blacks get tired of being criticised en masse. It’s not fair either way and you’re part of the problem, not the solution.

Whites get tired of constantly having the finger pointed at their entire race for just the same reasons blacks get tired of being criticised en masse. It’s not fair either way and you’re part of the problem, not the solution.

Put your complaint to music and play it on the violin! Otherwise that was hilarious!

@ BleuParfum Since when have Americans been a race? I was only pointing out that yanks (of any colour) have long been famous for not understanding irony. And this article proves the stereotype very nicely.

@ Abagond Although you don’t state it directly, it is very racist to suggest that every single white person in the world is the same and can be ‘spotted’ by certain phrases. Plus, why would you want to ‘spot’ white people? Why does it matter what colour someone is when you are chatting to them, online or otherwise? From reading some of your other articles on here, I would say you are easily the most race-obsessed person I have ever come across. Maybe when you personally start only judging people on an individual basis, based on their personal actions will you start being part of the solution and not part of the problem.

“it is very racist to suggest that every single white person in the world is the same and can be ‘spotted’ by certain phrases.”

1. It isn’t all white people it’s just most of us.
2. it’s true.
3. Racial stuff pertaining to whites isn’t racism. It can be mean and ignorant shit based on race but it’s not racist because whites hold institutional power. We live in a de facto white supremacist culture.

Stereotyping is just something that people do. Everyone does it and I would even go so far to call it human nature from an evolutionary standpoint. Some people disagree and that’s fine. But I think what makes stereotyping wrong or particularly damaging is when one group with a disproportional amount of power holds stereotypes against a group that has little or no power while those 2 groups live amongst one another. Then it becomes a real problem. We all know that POC hold just as many stereotypes as whites whether we want to admit it or not. But it doesn’t really matter because those stereotypes cause little to no damage. So If you try to gain moral ground by crying “reverse racism” you lose. You just look foolish and ignorant. And, you look white.

“Are you American by any chance? The only reason I ask is surely YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE A YANK to miss the irony in writing an article about how racist ALL white people are! Lmfao!”

You took what Abagond–one person–said and applied it to all Americans while accusing Abagond of applying what a few white people on his blog said to all whites. That’s what Blue Parfum was trying to say. That’s also what was actually ironic, not what you thought all “us Yanks” do. Hypocrisy usually is ironic, though…

don’t forget about portuguese racism, they collectively hate everyone just like the anglos octavio Mateus a paleontologist , he hates Africa and Africans , and octavio is using Angola to exploit African.

a) I am used to unmodified colours applied to people referring to hair, not skin colours.
b) My skin is a bit of an oddity, tans extremely well, as my mother found out when she left me when I was a baby for hours in the summer sunshine, don’t do this at home).
c) One of my first languages is extra-ordinarily fond of diminiutives.

so, to me it feels more like a word to be used in a friendly way than “white”. On the other hand, “Yep, I’m a whitey” makes it very easy to identify one, and perhaps that is the “nice” white part, being free to consider race as an outmoded concept that hardly matters, and should not be mentioned wit big, ugly words, but with little, cute words instead.

Your entire blog is based on presenting racial stereotypes as fact and insight. You seem to be completely obsessed with race and racism and you project that obsession onto others. Of course people are prejudiced and race is one of the many thousands of things we make prejudgements about but if you think every assumption made about you is RACISM or SEXISM or whateverism then (1) you’re paranoid and (2) you’re probably avoiding why people are reacting negatively to you.

Whites get tired of constantly having the finger pointed at their entire race for just the same reasons blacks get tired of being criticised en masse. It’s not fair either way and you’re part of the problem, not the solution

–this is right. the obsession isn’t really the problem. the style and invitation to talk about race issues is great anda blog like this needs a writer who is somewhat obsessed. but abagond lacks objectivity.

this is made worse by the applause he gets from people who think:

– ‘is this an anti-white post?’ check.

– ‘devoid of any reflection on the black community for some of their problems?’ check.

– ‘insulting people black/white who have a different point of view to him?’ check

…well that makes it the best post ever!!

and btw you didn’t say ‘all whites’ but don’t be hypocritical and say that if someone flipped this entire post about black people you wouldn’t be offended and hurt – whether they used ‘all blacks’ or not.

The way I know is when they keep saying narrow minded stuff and I ask are you white and they’ll always say WHAT ARE YOU A NIGGER, or when you ask if theyre white they’ll say IM SAMOAN!!!! its like theres not that many samoans whats the chance of running into one over the internet that acts like hes in the KKK?

Funny how often people who cry about all this racist stuff are themselves, oddly, kind of racist. Funny, that. Makes you wonder if racism is a natural tendency of human beings and people have to fight their tendency toward it. Nah, that couldn’t be. That makes NO SENSE!

Funny how often people who cry about all this racist stuff are themselves, oddly, kind of racist. Funny, that. Makes you wonder if racism is a natural tendency of human beings and people have to fight their tendency toward it. Nah, that couldn’t be. That makes NO SENSE!”

@GS

Thanks for stopping in to chat with us (so-called) racist people.
Since it seems like you’re trying hard at being a logical fella looking for “sense” and all, how about sharing the following with all of your fellow trolls:

When, or if, black people begin chaining, shipping, enslaving, selling, lynching, raping, oppressing, exploiting, shooting, jailing, whipping, maiming, torturing, evangelizing, robbing, stereotyping, bullying, segregating, building highways and thruways to dislocate, experimenting on, discriminating against, prohibiting, murdering, holding back in every imaginable way and HATING WHITE PEOPLE en mass via de jure and de facto racism for HUNDREDS of years, then and only then can calling black people racists, make sense.

Unless America’s historical and traditional scripts are flipped, the ONLY people who can possibly ever qualify to be racists, and “fight their (“natural”) tendency toward it,” are WHITE people.

Maybe when Teddy wrote “Matari,” he actually meant to write “GS.”
At any rate, I’m certainly interested in hearing/learning about “a miscegenation promoting government project?”

@ GS
P.S. I don’t believe racism is a natural human tendency. If it were, wouldn’t racism (the categorizing of people based on their skin color so as to oppress them) have existed globally long BEFORE the transatlantic slave trade began?

When, or if, black people begin chaining, shipping, enslaving, selling, lynching, raping, oppressing, exploiting, shooting, jailing, whipping, maiming, torturing, evangelizing, robbing, stereotyping, bullying, segregating, building highways and thruways to dislocate, experimenting on, discriminating against, prohibiting, murdering, holding back in every imaginable way and HATING WHITE PEOPLE en mass via de jure and de facto racism for HUNDREDS of years, then and only then can calling black people racists, make sense.

Excellently stated. Every time somebody makes the claim of ‘reverse racism’ in my earshot, I say pretty much the same thing, and have been doing so for quite a few years! 😎

“When, or if, black people begin chaining, shipping, enslaving, selling, lynching, raping, oppressing, exploiting, shooting, jailing, whipping, maiming, torturing, evangelizing, robbing, stereotyping, bullying, segregating, building highways and thruways to dislocate, experimenting on, discriminating against, prohibiting, murdering, holding back in every imaginable way and HATING WHITE PEOPLE en mass via de jure and de facto racism for HUNDREDS of years, then and only then can calling black people racists, make sense.”

Thanks, Sepultura. I imagine that you silence those who play that silly “reverse racism” card, quite nicely. I wonder what percentage of those folks – upon hearing the truth – allow IT to actually seep in (as the *crickets* are chirping). lol

Makes you wonder if racism is a natural tendency of human beings and people have to fight their tendency toward it. Nah, that couldn’t be.

No sirrah, it doesn’t! I wonder about things such as how they get the caramel in the chocolate bars without leaving a mark! That is what I wonder about! Otherwise I am a misanthrope who hates everyone, some more than others! If you are human, you’ve probably got something wrong with you any way! Bah Humbug!, or is it tweedly dee! A brilliant supposition GS(it should have been BS). Don’t hate, vegetate GS!

another great way to silence the ‘reverse racism’ shriek is to use the analogy of a marathon. I will say to the offender in my crosshairs: “All right then, let’s run for 20 laps – but, you can’t start until I’m ahead of you by five laps. When you do begin to run, you will be encumbered by chains for the first four laps; once the chains are removed, officials will throw obstacles in your path while keeping mine clear. Any complaints you have about that obviously unfair treatment will ensure that you are placed in a hockey-type penalty box while I run two more laps.” When they say, “I don’t have a chance of winning, then!” I simply look at them while the crickets chirp…I never expect an epiphany from them, but I at least hope that I’ve helped them think outside of the box for a second or so.

@ sam & Herneith:
Dirty Harry makes me laugh! I think that the only other person who hates everyone was W.C. Fields…I believe he once stated: “I’m not a bigot – I hate all people equally!” 😎

So, basically, what I am hearing here is that anyone one doesn’t immediately admit to being racist, or makes ANY argument against one of your opinions is white and therefore, inevitably racist? I have no idea how to respond to such ridiculous, circular logic. Many of your points ARE valid… for example, the fact that one’s ancestors did not own slaves is not a “get out of being racist free” card. However, I, as a white woman, have been subjected to racist behavior from black people in shocking amounts. I have, as a result, begun to EXPECT rudeness and confrontational behavior from black people… which is, admittedly, racist. I’m trying to say that it DOES go both ways, and feeds on itself in a vicious cycle. Finger pointing and accusations are NOT the cure, they are part of the disease.

I think that you can discriminate on skin color or height or weight or looks without being racist.Racist has a very specific meaning the belief that certain racial characteristics are superior or inferior to others.So saying blacks are lazy because they are black is racist,saying blacks are lazy because they are lazy is discrimination which may or may not be accurate.Discrimination is of course how humans make sense of the world around them.

Anti-white racism isn’t the solution and will never be.
Anti-black racism isn’t the solution and will never be.
anti-asian racism isn’t the solution and will never be.
anti-native racism isn’t the solution and will never be.
anti-mixed racism isn’t the solution and will never be.
anti-jewish racism isn’t the solution and will never be.
anti-etc… racism isn’t the solution and will never be.

Stop complaining white people and take care of your lives!!! This will not come with their extermination!

I want to say first thanks for running this blog, I just got linked to it and it’s very useful.

And I’ll just state right out that I am a white Canadian (All Norweigan on my mother’s side, a mix of different European countries on my Dad’s), and I do try to be aware of how racist our society is and how that colours my views, and sometimes I have to actively combat what the primitive parts of my brain that have absorbed too much western media are telling me when I go into a situation dealing with a person of colour. I admit I’m the product of a racist society, that I have absorbed some of that racism, and I try to pull off the blinders whenever I can.

That said the one point on here that I never even considered was that ethnicity might be an insufficient synonym for race. I use both words (background doesn’t seem to be the right word unless you’re discussing a specific aspect of someone’s culture… what would “he’s from a Jamaican background,” for example even mean? if you were describing the mere fact that he is Jamaican), but I know some find race to be othering, or confrontational, like you’re referring to someone as a whole different species. I don’t want to contribute to colour blind eraser of the differences between peoples, so I was just wondering if you’d share your thoughts on that matter in a bit more detail.

Doing a search on something completely unrelated and came upon this. I read it, and you’re bonkers.Is this really how you perceive all white people? For some it may be true, and perhaps you are basing this on american white people but the person putting this list together is, him/herself, a racist.

Just for fun I’m going to go through your statements and respond…as a white person.

1. I do not say purple people. I say pink with red stripes
2. I rarely reference the arab slave trade and when I do it is usually in reference to how they treat women
3. Everyone knows that Africans sold and owned slaves, and I hear people of colour state that as well, so that is just a silly thing to say. That Africans did that is fact, and it doesn’t negate the horror of other races doing it.
4. My family did not own slaves because my family is not american; we’re scottish who immigrated to Canada after slavery was abolished so it’s actually true for me. And..I’m Canadian, and we happily gave safe haven to run away slaves of americans.
5. I do not explain away white racism. I think the American whites are some of the nastiest, racist people on the planet.
6. Of course blacks are racist. What is wrong with saying that? So are chinese and E. Indians – big time. It’s a flawed humanity
7. i have never been beaten, robbed or disrespected by a black person. Ever.
8. I never say I am not racist because I know I am. There are certain traits in the asian cultures that I loath – primarily their human rights offences..and if that makes me a racist…so be it. I see a persons colour, for it is part of their identity.
9. I have no idea if my grandparents were racist. I know my mother was a bit, but then she was intolerant of anyone who was not british…even white people who were not british.
10. Another americanism….
11. No one has ever called me a racist, so I cannot respond to this one.
12. I’ve never said that to anyone, but I do know that I have been prejudiced against by East Indians for being white. Those are usually immigrant males who think women are objects. We all know that is a concern in india due to the gang rapes.
13. You must know some pretty stupid white people to think all whites think like this ha ha.
14. I only talk down to ignorant and extraordinarily stupid people..and I don’t care what colour they are – stupid is stupid.
15. I do not assume being black is a bad thing. That’s just an absurd assumption.
16. No racism is not over. It is alive and well, an example being this article
17. What is wrong with saying Obama is half white? He is.
18. Most crimes are not committed by blacks. Over all it’s reasonably distributed.
19. I know a lot of people who made it on their own – myself, my brother, friends of mine whose family is from the middle east, and my doctor is black and is a remarkable person – self made..so….another stupid statement
20. I use the words race and colour, but I also use the word ethnicity because I have an education and my vocabulary reflects that.
21. Well, I say that Blacks have had many successes in life given that they were brought to N.A. as slaves. They have achieved a great deal in the face of adversity. The troubles they have were born of that adversity; it’s not their fault they were brought over as slaves.
22. ha, I think white americans are embarrassing. I am a white Canadian and I find most white americans to be vulgar, uneducated and either megalomaniacs or rednecks.
23. All people are racists to a certain extent. We are flawed humans.
24. I don’t think there is anything wrong with standing up for your race against stereotypical statements. Black people do it, chinese people do it, so I think a white person can do it also. I’m not a wimp, I will stand up for myself
25. I’ve never heard anyone use the term whitey, but then..I regard anyone who uses that level of language (regardless of colour) to be uneducated pinheads.

This article is highly racist. You stereotype white people in the most negative ways and that makes you worse than any racist you talk about. What you state says more about you, than them. Personally I have found that the black people who reside in Europe are far more successful, knowledgeable and better spoken than americans because of their education level and sincerity. They celebrate their African culture while just setting out to go to school and get a job. Americans – black, white or pink with red stripes have one almighty chip on their shoulders and it’s a struggle for them to be pleasant at all, to anyone.

Now here is a question for you (if you’re still around because I know this is an old article) …blacks were brought to North America as slaves. They were brutalized, dehumanized, abused, tortured and murdered. So why have they embraced the christian religion of their slavers? Why would they want to? I’m an atheist..yay…but the christian religion embraced and supported slavery…so why the hell are there so many black american christians? Now that, is nuts.

George..how mature. LOL I don’t give a rats patootie about maple syrup or hockey and where I live, my gardens bloom year round. Grow up.

Resw, the point I am making in my posting is that he is being racist by making all those accusations. “How to tell if someone is white”..seriously? If someone did that “how to tell if someone is black” schtick there would be outrage near and far and some fool would put it on cnn. People are different, and that is born of their way of life, the places in the world they live. What I read there by him, seemed very American – a land of hate and intolerance and should not paint people of the same race..the same way…just as he is trying to say don’t say all blacks are criminals..it’s just not true..so..perhaps the article should be amended to say he’s doing his study on white america.

I admit that I find Americans very vulgar..does that make me a racist? No..I means I think the American society on the whole is in trouble.

Given where I live, and my travels abroad, I have amazing friends of different races and so yes..I find it offensive to have it suggested that I as a white woman, would view them as less than me because they are not white. That is utter hooey.

And..I’m Canadian, and we happily gave safe haven to run away slaves of americans.

‘Happily’ my left buttock! I am a black Canadian whose family came here in 1819 and 1850’s respectively. I can assure you that they were not as ‘welcome’ as you insist.

I do not explain away white racism. I think the American whites are some of the nastiest, racist people on the planet.

Now who is the ignorant one here? At least these ‘nasty ignorant Americans’ are upfront in their racism which is more than can be said for white Canadians. I know, I have been the recipient of their more ‘enlightened brand’ since I was cognizant of such which was at a young age. As a white Canadian do not pat yourself on the back.

No one has ever called me a racist, so I cannot respond to this one.

Racist! How’s that? Hurt your white Canadian sensibilities? Your very diatribe has proven the points of this articles. Who gives a rat’s a$$ what you think, this is an american blog for the most part in this instance, I am glad for ‘nasty ignorant Yanks’. Have at her Yanks!

George, you need to read more, or travel more. You are a pernicious little troll and you know nothing about the world beyond the USA borders. I am on the west coast…in the islands…snows once every few years…you’re moron. The house I own overseas is in an area that gets snow, but then I don’t go there in the winter.

Hernieth, you have a point if you’re speaking about the eastern part of canada- I cannot give you their opinion, but I can only give you mine and I grew up on the islands. Apparently I have hurts your feelings. Just because I find something offensive, doesn’t mean my feelings are hurt. ha ha

I admitted that I may be racist against chinese immigrants..but no one has called me a racist..ever..so..whatever, if that rattles your chain that’s your wee problem, not mine.

It’s interesting that when someone has an opposing opinion you cannot discuss the matter or even ask questions intelligently, but you resort to being nasty and hateful. Does it hurt my feelings? Not at all, I merely accept that you probably just an unpleasant person overall regardless of your ethnicity. (Oh gosh..there’s that word)

You boys are just that…little boys I suppose. Travel, get a few university degrees under your belt, meet new people..

Funnily enough, no one bothered to answer my question as to why blacks have adopted the christian faith. The American Blacks were treated horribly, as i outlined above, and yet they adopted the religion of the culture that enslaved them. That makes no sense whatsoever.

If you didn’t intend that, fine..great. However, your first paragraph does paint a large brush. Still..nobody will answer my final question. Do you have insight on that? It’s a valid question – it’s a societal phenomena that bears some research.

I an white, don’t agree with some of the things I’m reading on your site, but in this instance think your list was for the most part, spot-on. However I think a better title might have been “how to tell if a commenter is a white right-winger”. Almost every single one of the examples you gave are verbatim talking points of people that are usually right wingers. I have not read all the comments so I don’t know if anyone else pointed this out.

“..no one bothered to answer my question as to why blacks have adopted the christian faith.”

That question is like asking why women embrace the Christian faith, or the Islamic faith, when both have by and large oppressed and teach they are not equal to men. It is common for people to follow the religion of their parents, culture and/or oppressors.

George, I have my opinions about their culture, but I have the good manners to keep it to myself and not treat them poorly. I am not impolite to them, just because I object to the chinese practices in china.. I object to the human rights issues of their country as well as their poor regard for the environment.

“David I’m an atheist, so the whole god schtick is ridiculous to me anyway.”—-Ren why ask the question over and over again. Makes you seem highly irrational(though not the first irrational thing you said. )

“People are different, and that is born of their way of life, the places in the world they live.”

I absolutely agree. But for some crazy reason, SOME whites tend to use the same script, which you have demonstrated.

“The American Blacks were treated horribly, as i outlined above, and yet they adopted the religion of the culture that enslaved them. ”

You do realise that whites were enslaved with Christianity too? Christianity was not born in Europe, but Africa, and it spread after the Romans adopted it and conquered and enslaved most of Europe. Then the church ruled Europe for centuries imposing feudalistic serfdom, which of course is a white bread word for slavery. Christianity was born in Africa and thus existed in Africa prior to the European enslavement of Africans.

So your question really isn’t only applicable to “American Blacks,” who might be Christian, it’s applicable to anyone who is Christian.

In addition, you speak as if Canada never had slavery or discrimination against and segregation of Blacks as well. Well it did, in case you were unaware.

I think you make a lot of good points and I agree with most of what you wrote. Well said. Just a couple points of disagreement from this biracial, Black and White poster: Re: #10: Your claim is mostly true, and sometimes people really do “cry racism”, becoming overly-obsessed with the topic. There’s a certain personality type that will become obsessed with any topic that interests him/her, seeing a legitimate, negative phenomenon where it isn’t occurring, at times. Again, that doesn’t excuse the many Whites who say someone is race obsessed just to try and avoid addressing valid points about their racism.

Re: #17: As someone who is biracial, like the president, I don’t like half of my factual identity ignored or erased for anyone’s political agenda, White, Black or any other ethnic group. So if someone is obeying the racist, so-called One Drop Rule that Whites created and only refer to a biracial president as (only) Black, anyone at all is right in correcting that inaccuracy and saying, “The president is also half-White”. People need to stop misrepresenting biracial identities to serve either a Black or White political agenda. The correct, factual, non-racist answer is that the president is biracial: both Black and White.

I found your blog yesterday, and I have delightfully spent many hours reading it. You have so many good and interesting points that I just can’t stop reading.

I am white. I live in Sweden – a very white country. I am most definitely, regrettably, probably a racist sometimes, without even realising it. This breaks my heart, and I have always fought against it. This is one of the reasons I have devoured your blog in the last 24 hours – because all of it angers me and frustrates me so.

I had my first encounter with racism when I was 11 years old. I had a boyfriend (the innocent version, where you just hang out) whose father was from Gambia. His mother was a blond Swede, but as you can probably guess that didn’t matter much since it probably caused confusion more than anything else. To make the contrast even more obvious he was the only person of colour at our school (and he was just as Swedish as I am, since my father is English and my mother is Swedish). In 1991 and 1992 there was a crazy and mean man who went on a murder spree, only killing people with dark skin or dark hair. He used a rifle with a laser sight so he got the nickname “the Laser Man”. It went on for many months before they caught him, so everyone was afraid – or rather, everyone who wasn’t white and fair-haired was afraid.

One evening we sat in my boyfriend’s room and we talked about the Laser Man, and he told me that he was really afraid. We talked about how scary it was that the little red point could appear anytime and anywhere. I realised then that he had to face something that I would never have to deal with, something so unfair and frightening that I could hardly wrap my head around it. It didn’t matter how much I fancied him, or thought he was the coolest person in school; he had to deal with being different and all the opinions that are attached to that, and it wasn’t fair. He belonged to a group that was discriminated and harassed in our society, and I didn’t.

I could write a whole blog post about the racism here in Sweden, and how it can be compared to racism elsewhere, but I’m not going to do it now. I’ll just say that it is with horror and despair that I observe that racism isn’t going away.

Let me just add something as a comment to this blog post.
I would like to argue that blacks*, as well as other groups that are victims of oppression etc, cannot be called racist. Racism at its very core is a structure of superiority and inferiority, and this is the reason (I would argue) why a person who is put in a position of inferiority cannot express racism towards his or her suppressor. What some would regard as “racism towards whites” could be regarded as a kind of mirroring of bad behaviour, a reaction or a protest, or categorical and prejudiced – but it is not to be compared with the structure of racism that white people (and other) confirm and propagate in different ways, sometimes deliberately and sometimes by merely existing within the structure.

Now I’m off to learn more about how not to be racist, how to fight racism, and about your point of view (and the point of views of your readers).

Thank you!

*I’m sorry if ‘blacks’ is racist. I want to use whatever epithet that the group in question prefers, but I just don’t know with this one.

I personally know very little about Sweden aside from ABBA (so boring, sorry) or the culture or really anything substantial about the country so I would be interested to read about the dynamics in the country and I also think it is refreshing when people from other parts of the world comment.

I found your blog yesterday, and I have delightfully spent many hours reading it. You have so many good and interesting points that I just can’t stop reading.

I am white. I live in Sweden – a very white country. I am most definitely, regrettably, probably a racist sometimes, without even realising it. This breaks my heart, and I have always fought against it. This is one of the reasons I have devoured your blog in the last 24 hours – because all of it angers me and frustrates me so.

Please clarify. I’m curious as to what you mean by it angers and frustrates you? Are you referring to what is written by Abagond in his blog or do you mean all the injustice and unfairness black people have gone through and are still going through? I do hope you mean the latter rather than the former. A lot of white people have dropped by on here and their first reaction is to condemn Abagond, his blog, and commenters for being so-called racist and anti-white.

The problem for biracial people in America is that you’re not defined by your blood, you’re only defined by how you look. That’s how race works in America (and many other places). It’s a social construct that has little to do with genetics, and everything to do with appearances. So if you don’t look white or biracial or black, whatever that means, you’re not perceived that way. You could be biracial like Mariah Carey, but be perceived as white (by some), or biracial like Obama and be perceived as black (by most). Besides, the President also self-identifies as African American so that is the “correct, factual” racial term for him.

Yes, I mean the latter. It frustrates and angers me that racism exists period, in your society and in the society I live in. I am ashamed of my race and what it has done to many different groups throughout history, and is still doing. Unfortunately, I can’t change other people (someone please give me a magic solidarity wand) but I can try to combat the racism that I am unknowingly to blame for myself, I can protest on behalf of oppressed groups, and I can vote for the right party.
I really enjoy what Abagond is writing, although I do find it a bit categorical at times (but mind you, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong). So I don’t condemn Abagond, I applaud him.

I suspect we Swedes know a little more about your country than you generally know about Sweden (we’re only 9 million people here, which is just slightly more than the population of your biggest city), but there are still so many things that I want to know more about and “the black perspective” is seriously lacking in our perception of your country, as indeed our own. And I desperately want to close the gap between “us” and “them”… if it will ever be possible.

@ Omnipresent

Thank you. I think ABBA is boring too. I’ve never been able to understand the appeal. But we do have quite a few talented songwriters that you might have listened to and liked without knowing, but anyway… I think this kind of communication is the best thing about the Internet. How could it have been possible otherwise? It’s great.
And I’d love to write about the dynamics in my country, and how it might compare to your country. I’m glad you’re interested.

@ Abagond

I’d love to write a guest post. Thank you for the invitation. Hopefully I can make the subject justice, but obviously I’ll work on it until you think it’s good.

Yes, I knew about the clitoridectomy cake… and I don’t like it (but of course, I’m not meant to). I dislike the use of blackface, which I have also seen during a few of my visits to England (where my dad lives) in the shape of Golliwog dolls. I think it is counterproductive to use imagery and symbolism that originated from the whites. It as a tool of oppression, and it should be regarded as such by everyone. It is also very dated. We all know that African women don’t look like that, so I think he would have come closer to the target if he had made the cake look like a real woman. It would have been possible, and nobody would have wanted to eat the cake, which would have been far more effective.
As a woman I also see it as taking a female tragedy and objectifying it, instead of treating it as the very serious issue that it is. I just find it a bit annoying that a man has taken the artistic license to make a woman look like a caricature that can also be eaten. It is a controversial piece of art, which isn’t wrong in itself, but it is also unnecessarily offensive to the wrong group of people. The politician in the picture really shouldn’t be laughing. She should be heartbroken and disgusted. What the artwork lacks is the sense of urgency that the artist probably wanted to convey… the message gets lost in tasteless comedy and racial slurs.

I saw your virtual travel pictures and I loved the whole idea! When I saw the line on the map and that it ran through Sweden I just somehow knew that I would see a picture from right around where I live (which is weird because this is a very long country, and you could have landed anywhere), and the picture of the farm north of Stockholm is in fact just 30 minutes from here. Funny! That’s sort of what it looks like when I look out the window.
The picture of the man with the pram, who is in a place called Götgatsbacken in Stockholm, is a very common sight here. I would say that it is absolutely correct. I’m so used to it that I am almost blind to it, and I don’t really see why the New York Times would feature it, but I guess it isn’t very common in other parts of the world. Do you see dads with prams in America a lot?

You forgot them claiming/stealing Bloodline to fit in the poc,temporary exotic or taste of suffering. Here’s the popular one:They’re mix with native american. They great great great great grandmother is a Cheeroko or blackfoot princess. They always avoid the rape part and try to romance it